Trip Journal -- Day Two, Second Entry

10 Oct 2004, later

Did I mention I didn't sleep last night?

My quaint and charming cabin is conveniently located just above the Engine Room.  And last night, we went through some locks -- navigating into locks requires use of the bow thruster, about which I know nothing except it sounds like we're running aground, against an angry whale. 

And something in my cabin was buzzing last night.  Not softly, like a fly or something, but loud, as if the window were not seated properly in its casement.

So -- little sleep last night, four hours the night before.  It didn't really faze me this morning.  Excited about kayaking, eager for breakfast (hell, even curious about the marine shower) and I was rarin' to go.

After kayaking was lunch.  I rarely eat much for lunch (especially not after having had breakfast, a meal I usually skip) but I ate like I was famished.  Salad, cup of soup, and two halves of a grilled cheese sandwich.  And, um, another half, as long as the waiter was coming around with them.

We then did the Coast Guard mandated security drill; I sat on the deck for some sightseeing (watched us go through the John Day Dam & Lock -- which raised our ship some 105 feet); I went downstairs for milk & cookies.  I ate two huge cookies.  At this point, I started to notice that I was eating an awful lot, but I attributed it to having expended energy kayaking or something.

And then, it hit me.  I was on a bench seat (in a booth) and I leaned back to rest, almost as a joke.  And my body said, "You're not getting up."  Actually, I don't think my body was capable of complete sentences or polysyllabic words.  It said, "Me want more down time."

I staggered back to my cabin and -- with my clothes on and the window open -- had a bit of a lie down.

I couldn't sleep, though.  The damn buzzing thing was still buzzing, and I realized that this was what was keeping me awake, not the steady hum of the engines or the bright glow of the midday sun.

I pulled myself out of (well "off of") bed --still not having made the connection that I'd been eating like a pig because my body had zero energy and was trying to recharge however it could.  I went into "stubborn investigator mode," hunting down the cause of the buzz.

I actually went right for it (like Inigo Montoya when he does that "Father, guide my sword" bit).  Seems the window is surrounded by mock wood panelling, and some of it is loose at the top of the window, causing the annoying buzz.  Press on it, and it blissfully stops buzzing.  There are bolts all around the window, giving me an opportunity for an easy fix.  I jammed my "adventure camera bag" up there, wedged it between a bolt and the offending piece of panelling.  The bag presses the panel to the surface and presto, no buzz.

This is the view, looking upward, of my window for the rest of the trip:

This accomplished, I promptly fell back in ("on") bed and crashed for two hours.

Woke with a headache.  I had one last night and this morning, too -- but with the new found brain power coming from an actual nap, I know exactly why I have it and how to make it go away.  I haven't had a Coke in over 24 hours.  Stupid caffeine withdrawal.  Conveniently, it is now 6:05 -- "Happy hour."  I'm off to go get happy.